'56 Packard Man

Although we normally focus on Packards (and to a lesser extent Studebakers) in our Gear Head Tuesday posts, we are always happy when we find any old car that has been restored or preserved and is out for a little “exercise” with its owner(s). Thus we were happy this past Saturday morning to find these Chevrolets outside Mary’s Pizza Shack in Dixon, California. There were three of them,  a ’39, a ’38 and one more earlier vintage. I speak “fluent Packard,” not “fluent Chevrolet,” so I’m not certain of the year of the third Chevy, but I think it is a ’31. In any case, for your viewing pleasure courtesy of Steve Jobs and my iPhone:

’39 Chevy:

’38 Chevy:

’31 (?) Chevy:

A few blocks away was this nice ’47 Plymouth:

Now, via “RogerDetroit” at PackardInfo, here is Jay Leno’s
Packard-Merlin V-12

The Engine That Won World War II

 

Vacationers to the Detroit area should visit the Packard Proving Grounds, maintained by the Packard Motor Car Foundation. The proving grounds is located outside of Utica, MI where Packard built its plant to build aircraft and marine engines, its passenger car V-8  engine and Ultramatic Drive automatic transmissions. 

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Crain’s Detroit Business reports that tours have begun of the Packard plant on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit: Inaugural Tour of Packard Plant Captivates Visitors

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In closing, “Dr.Mc” sends us this Murray Car: